Sunday's highly publicized military court conviction of two Givati soldiers for using a Palestinian boy as a human shield should serve as an opportunity to contest the Supreme Court's sweeping prohibition of such behavior, formally known in the IDF as neighbor procedure, Prof. Asa Kasher, author of the IDF's code of ethics, said Tuesday.

What those two soldiers did was wrong, said Kasher in a telephone interview, endorsing the military court ruling. But there are situations in which the use of the enemy's civilian population to defuse a potentially explosive situation is not only ethically permissible, it also saves lives.

In many instances of confrontation between IDF forces and a terror suspect who has barricaded him or herself inside a building, neighbors who are either family from the same clan or friends can peacefully and effectively neutralize the situation, Kasher explained.

Neighbors often have a vested interest in preventing the IDF from destroying the building where the suspect is hiding because they live in the same building; relatives or loved ones also have a desire to save the terrorist's life, Kasher explained.

If they volunteer to do so of their own free will they should be allowed to, said Kasher.

On Sunday the IDF Southern Command's Military Court ruled that two Givati Division soldiers acted inappropriately when they ordered a Palestinian boy to open bags suspected of containing bombs during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip last year. The two staff sergeants face up to a three-year prison sentence.

The IDF uses the term neighbor procedure to describe the use of the enemy's civilian population to perform duties normally performed by IDF soldiers.

In 2005 the Supreme Court ruled that the neighbor procedure was unlawful according to international law.

Then chief justice Aharon Barak argued that there was a ban on using residents as part of the occupying army's military effort and added that as a rule, [the local resident] is not allowed to renounce his rights as accorded by humanitarian law in Clause 8 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

This was true even if cooperation was offered for a desired end, such as bringing about a peaceful end to a potentially violent confrontation.

Kasher, a professor of philosophy at Tel Aviv University who first drafted The Spirit of the IDF (Ruach Tzahal) in 1994 and helped update the moral code in 2001, is also the co-author with Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin of 11 Principles for Fighting Terrorism, which is used to educate officers on the IDF's rules of engagement.

The author of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) Code of Conduct has strongly defended the military's use of "the enemy's" civilians as human shields.

Asa Kasher, known as the forces' "ethic" guru, said on Tuesday "there are situations in which the use of the enemy's civilian population to defuse a potentially explosive situation is not only ethically permissible, it also saves lives," Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported.

The remarks came after two Israeli soldiers were convicted of using a Palestinian boy as a human shield during Tel Aviv's December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians.

The troops had recklessly endangered the life of the nine-year-old boy by forcing him to check suspected booby traps.

This is a new indicator, shows that the Israeli occupation forces committed war crimes against the Palestinians. And this required a follow-up from the international community to get the Israeli real war criminals, the Israel leaders to specialized courts, as what happened in the ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Amjad Shawa of the Palestinian NGO Network told the correspondent.

The United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict, also known as the 'Goldstone Report,' has accused Tel Aviv of committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the offensives.

Those, the report holds, include deliberately targeting of the civilians and the forces' "systematically reckless" way of determining the use of white phosphorus in built-up areas, notably on the UN Relief and Works Agency compound in the Gaza City as well as two Gaza-based hospitals.

In his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories this week, British Foreign Secretary William Hague reported being 'ambushed' by Israeli officials who cancelled a high-level security briefing with Hague in response to a British threat to arrest an Israeli official for war crimes.

Hague said he resented this move by Israel, since the British coalition government had already agreed to change the 'universal jurisdiction law' which allows for the prosecution of foreign citizens who have engaged in crimes against humanity.

Israeli officials have faced increasing threats of arrest by a variety of countries which use the universal jurisdiction law. According to Amnesty International, the law of universal jurisdiction is a requirement for all states who are signatories to the Convention against Torture and the Inter-American Convention, which states that whenever a person suspected of torture is found in their territory, they must submit the case to their prosecuting authorities for the purposes of prosecution, or to extradite that person.

Most recently, Israeli Cabinet Minister Dan Meridor had to cancel a trip to England November 1st after British intelligence officials warned him that he could face an arrest warrant upon entry into the UK.

Meridor is just the latest in a string of Israeli officials who have been cited for potential war crimes, including former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, former Israeli defence minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, former Defense chief-of-staff Moshe Ya'alon, former air force chief Dan Halutz, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni, among others. Most were cited for the ongoing Israeli military occupation of Palestine, and attacks against Palestinians, while Ariel Sharon was cited for his role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon in 1982.

The British Foreign Secretary's trip to the region this week was also criticized by Israeli officials due to the Secretary's decision to meet with Palestinians who recently lost their homes to violent Israeli settler takeovers in East Jerusalem.

The defense team of Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Borberg and Staff-Sergeant (res.) Leonardo Corea, who were involved in the shooting of a bound Palestinian protestor two years ago, tried to convince judges to mitigate their sentence on Wednesday.

The prosecution is pushing for Borberg's demotion, a former commander of Battalion 71 in the Armored Corps, which will in effect end his military career.

Three months ago the special military court on the Kirya base convicted Borberg of attempted threats and his soldier Staff Sgt. Corea, of illegal use of a weapon. Both of them were also convicted of inappropriate behavior.

Two high ranking IDF officers reported to the special military court in order to testify as the ex-battalion commander's character witnesses on Wednesday. Major-General Gershon Hacohen, commander of IDF colleges and former commander of the 36th Division testified in favor of Borberg.

"He's the finest of men, a man whose judgment can be trusted," he said. "The incident he was involved in is not a moral failure but an operational accident. The fact that his tenure as battalion commander has been suspended is punishment enough."

Ground Forces Command Major-General Sami Turjeman is also slated to testify in favor of Borberg whom he knows well.

Facing 3 years in prison

What started as a routine protest of a few dozen Palestinians and left-wing activists in the West Bank village of Naalin on July 7, 2008 turned into one of the IDF's most significant command and legal matters in recent years. Staff Sgt. Corea fired rubber bullets from close range at anti-fence protestor Ashraf Ibrahim Abu Rahma as he was blindfolded and bound and hit close to his shoe.

The maximum punishment Corea and Borberg face is three years in prison.

The judges ruled that Abu Rahma did not pose a threat and that the Borberg's actions were unlawful. It was further stated that the incident had caused significant damage to the reputation of the IDF, its commanders and soldiers.

The shooter, former battalion commander Omri Borberg, was found guilty in an Israeli court of shooting Ashraf Ibrahim Abu Rahma at extremely close range with a rubber bullet on June 7, 2008.

The incident happened after a wall protest in the West Bank village of Ni'lin. He and Staff-Sergeant Leonardo Corea face a maximum of three years in prison and a demotion.

Major-General Hacohen testified on Borberg's behalf, He's the finest of men, a man whose judgment can be trusted.

The accident he was involved in is not a moral failure but an operational accident.

Hacohen's testimony and that of other high-ranking army personnel is intended to lighten Borberg's sentence. After he and Corea were found guilty, the presiding judges said Abu Rahma, the prisoner, did not pose any threat to the soldiers, whose actions damaged the reputation of the Israeli army.

Israel Tells Britain It Will Not Engage In Strategic Talks Before Legal Changes

William Hague

Jerusalem PNN The Israeli government told Great Britain that Israel will not continue with strategic talks until London reviews its laws concerning war crimes, Israeli radio reported on Wednesday.

According to Israeli radio, the announcement came as William Hague, the British Foreign Secretary, began a two-day visit to the region to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders. In addition, he will sign a co-production film treaty with the right wing Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, which will "help stimulate productivity in both countries' film industries."

British law allows judges to issue arrest warrants against any foreign national visiting the UK, if the person in question has a proven role in war crimes. The Israeli Forging Ministry spokesperson, Yighal Palmer, told AFP that the specific law is problematic.

This law and the problems it creates to the movement of Israeli leaders are a top priority during Hague's visit, Palmer told AFP.

In the past, British arrest warrants were issued against Tzepi Livni, the former Israeli forging minster, current defense minister Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and many others for committing war crimes against Palestinians. None of them were arrested.

British universal jurisdiction empowers judges to issue arrest warrants for nearly any visitor accused of war crimes anywhere in the world; visiting Foreign Secretary William Hague wants law changed, embassy says.

Israel has canceled its special strategic dialogue with London to protest a law that enables Britain to arrest visiting Israeli officials for alleged war crimes, officials in Jerusalem said Wednesday.

The move was announced during British Foreign Secretary William Hague's two-day visit to the region.

"The strategic dialogue has indeed been postponed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told AFP. "The visit by Foreign Minister Hague is an important phase in the ongoing exchange between the countries and the question of Israeli officials being unable to travel to Britain will be on the top of the agenda as far as we are concerned."

Britain is one of the European pioneers of universal jurisdiction, a broad legal concept that empowers judges to issue arrest warrants for nearly any visitor accused of committing war crimes anywhere in the world.

Pro-Palestinian activists have sought to use this concept to press charges against Israelis involved in military operations in Palestinian territories, particularly since last year's Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. British officials have vowed to change the law.

A diplomatic source said that the annual strategic dialogue - launched two years ago to boost relations - broke off at the beginning of the year and did not take place last month as planned.

Karen Kaufman, spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, said that the issue would be raised during Hague's visit. "The British government understands that we have a real problem and we are dealing with it," she said, adding that Hague has expressed interest in changing the British law.

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor earlier this week became the latest Israeli official to cancel a visit to Britain for fear of arrest.

Last spring, pro-Palestinian activists persuaded a London judge to issue an arrest warrant for Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, who was foreign minister during the war in Gaza last year. The warrant was withdrawn after Livni canceled her trip, but the matter strained relations between Britain and Israel.

A delegation of senior Israel Defense Forces officers last spring canceled their own planned visit to the U.K a month later.

Prosecutors House Vandalized Over Conviction of Gaza Soldiers

Avichai Mandelblit

Petah Tikva - PNN - Graffiti was found on house of Major-General Avichai Mandelblit this morning in response to the prosecutor's conviction of two Israeli soldiers.

The graffiti called Mandelblit a "traitor" and compared him to Judge Richard Goldstone, the head of a commission for the United Nations that charged both Israel and Hamas with committing war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in the winter of 2008 and 2009.

The Petah Tikva Police and Investigating Military Police have begun a joint investigation regarding the incident.

The perpetrators appear to be protesting the conviction of two Israeli soldiers for crimes committed in Gaza. The convicted officers ordered a Palestinian child to open a bag they believed to be suspicious.

Mandelblit has recently decided to open such investigations into the military, arousing heated opposition in right wing circles, who believe that the judge should unconditionally support the soldiers.

A military representative said today "Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi backs the judge advocate general's activity and decisions, which are aimed at maintaining the IDF's rules, values and norms as an ethical army acting in accordance with the IDF's spirit, and fully condemns the attacks against the judge advocate general and his family members."

This is the second incident of vandalism in Mandelblit's home, following the placement of fliers near his home that said "Take your hands off Israeli soldiers".

Mandelblit is also investigating the case of Commander Colonel Ilan Malka, who ordered the bombing of a home that housed a Palestinian family, killing 21. The cases against Israeli soldiers who committed crimes against civilians during the Gaza war continue to come to light.

Tens of Swedes demonstrated on Wednesday in front of the Swedish institute for international relations against the visit of Israel's former chief of staff Shaul Mofaz.

The demonstrators, who rallied while Mofaz was delivering a speech at the institute, hoisted placards demanding his arrest for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during Israel's wars on Lebanon and Gaza.

Spanish authorities said it cannot grant former head of the Israeli Shin Bet Avi Dichter immunity from arrest and interrogation if he intends to visit its territories because of an arrest warrant issued against him.

Dichter was intending to travel to Madrid to attend a summit between officials from the Palestinian authority and Israel, but he cancelled his participation in the event for fear of arrest.

Spanish and Palestinian human rights organizations filed a lawsuit against a number of Israeli officials, including Dichter, with Spanish courts for their involvement in war crimes committed in 2002 in Al-Daraj neighborhood in the Gaza Strip which led to the death of 14 civilians including nine children and the injury of many others.

The Palestinian center for human rights hailed Spain for taking such step, saying it affirmed that its territories cannot be a safe haven for war criminals even if they enjoy diplomatic immunity.

The center urged Spain to abolish the recent amendments it made to the law of international jurisdiction, asserting that such amendments are against the international obligations laid over the shoulder of Spain.

Dan MeridorEXCLUSIVE: Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor has cancelled an appearance at a London fundraising dinner over fears he could be arrested under universal jurisdiction legislation. It is believed the Israeli Justice Ministry warned Mr Meridor that a warrant for his arrest may be issued if he entered Britain. He was due to speak at the Bicom dinner tonight. He was a replacement for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cancelled last week due to the delicate state of the peace negotiations. Mr Meridor's office refused to comment, but sources in the Prime Minister's office confirmed that he had cancelled his visit at the last moment. Arguments over alterations to the universal jurisdiction legislation have continued since the government came to power in May. Justice Minister Ken Clarke announced in July that the coalition would table a legislative amendment which would ensure the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would need to give consent for an arrest warrant to be issued in response to a private prosecution for war crimes. The government has repeatedly said it would act as soon as parliamentary time allows to implement the changes, but predicted it may take until the end of November or December. Bicom chief executive Lorna Fitzsimons said: “Israeli law officers did not think they should take the risk [of allowing him to come]. "Foreign Secretary William Hague intervened and the British government tried to make it work. They are committed to changing the law and it cannot come soon enough.”

Yesterday the Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli foreign ministry has successfully thwarted an attempted meeting between the signatories of the Geneva Convention which would have convened in Switzerland. According to the article, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman was motivated to block the meeting because it “could have resulted in a public statement that Israel has violated the charter during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip during 2009.” The article also credits Lieberman with “preventing the establishment of the victim's compensation fund of those injured in Cast Lead, which was decided by the UN Human Rights Council.” (What a fantastic human being) Such a development should come as no surprise, as it speaks to culture of impunity the international community affords Israel with respect to its military operations (among other things). It is almost as if the more egregious Israel is in its violations of international law, the more the country’s leaders are able to shield it from criticism. With each new operation, this list of violations grows longer. According to the Goldstone Report, [PDF] apart from the Geneva Conventions, Israel has acted in direct contravention of numerous articles of the following international agreements (in no particular order):

The Hague Regulations; (394)

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; (395)

The Convention Against Torture; (395)

The Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials; (398)

The Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials; (398)

The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders; (421)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (407)

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; (421)

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; (434)

And the 1995 Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information among others(493)

Even more frightening, apart from simply breaching these agreements, Israel has so gravely violated international standards as to be accused by Goldstone, the United Nations, and countless reputable human rights organizations of the following war crimes with respect to three recent notable military operations:War Crimes Committed During Operation Defensive Shield (Palestinian Territories; 2002) According to a United Nations report:

Willful killing

Inhuman treatment

Unlawful confinement of protected persons

Extensive destruction and appropriation of property not justified by military necessity and carried out wantonly and destructively

Illegal treatment of unlawful detainees including shackling, severe beatings during detention and interrogation, being held in foul conditions and solitary confinement -actions which violate prohibitions against physical or moral coercion of protected persons (324)

Torture (324)

Goldstone also found evidence for crimes against humanity as a result of a “series of acts that deprive Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from their means of subsistence, employment, housing and water, freedom of movement and their right to leave and enter their own country,” (371) as well as the “systematic discrimination, both in law and in practice, against Palestinians, in legislation…and in practice during detention, trial and sentence compared with Israeli citizens.” (422) A well-documented pattern of eviscerating civilian infrastructure, killing a disproportionately large number of protected persons including women and children, barring medical aid, human rights monitors and journalists from entry to military zones, and utilizing extremely destructive weapons such as cluster bombs and white phosphorus in densely populated areas is also evident in all three operations. (None of these remarks should be construed to obfuscate the reality of acts committed by Hezbollah, various resistance movements or Hamas respectively in each operation. However it must be noted that in scope, such abuses pale in comparison, nor do they make Israel any less guilty). In light of the magnitude and breadth of these violations, the foreign ministry’s ability to disrupt even a possible condemnation is a slap in the face to international standards of justice. Yet once again, through political maneuvering, Israel has managed to shield itself from criticism. In the face of such repugnant arrogance, is it any wonder that the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement “singles out” Israel? No other country with such a despicable human rights record has managed to maintain such flourishing relationships with world super-powers. Imagine, with all the attention Israel’s continued settlement expansion has received in the past few months (in direct and flagrant contravention of the united international consensus on the program’s inadmissibility) and yet still, Lieberman has the ability to disband a potential meeting of the signatories for the very agreement that makes Israel’s actions illegal!? It is absolutely ludicrous.

An Israeli commander has confessed to crimes committed by the Israeli army during the 22-day onslaught on the Gaza Strip, a report says.

Colonel Ilan Malka, who headed the Givati Brigade during the December 2008-January 2009 war against Gaza, has admitted to the killing of civilians during the Israeli incursion into the coastal sliver, the Arabic-language Al-Alam television network reported on Saturday.

Malka had earlier told Israeli investigators that he did not know there were civilians in a building that came under attack on January 5, 2009 after he ordered the strike.

Eyewitnesses, however, say Israeli military razed the building after the attack in order to obliterate traces of their crimes.

The deadly attack, which was denounced by the United Nations as "one of the gravest" of the offensives of the war, claimed the lives of 22 members of the Samuni family, ten of whom were minors.

Twenty-nine members of the family, who lived in Gaza City's Zaitun neighborhood, were killed, and 49 others were injured in the war.

The Samunis suffered more fatalities than any other Gaza family during the conflict, which the Israelis call Operation Cast Lead.

Meanwhile, Salah Abdul Ati, the director of the Independent Human Rights Center told Al-Alam that Tel Aviv had, at the time, rejected the killing of civilians in the attack.

Abdul Ati also stressed the need for the prosecution of Israeli authorities in international tribunals and called for an end to the Israeli occupation.

Israeli officials had previously claimed that the attack was an "operational error," saying the army had intended to attack a nearby weapons stockpile.

According to a UN report issued by veteran war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, Israel used disproportionate force and deliberately targeted civilians in the Gaza war.

The conflict claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians, including over 900 civilians.

During the 1967 war, Israel occupied the West Bank, including East al-Quds (Jerusalem), a move that has been repeatedly condemned by the international community.

The voice of joy, the voice of rejoicing is heard in Israel: The Americans and British have also committed for war crimes, not only us.

The voice of joy, the voice of rejoicing is heard in Israel: The Americans and British have also committed for war crimes, not only us. WikiLeaks' revelations have inflamed all our noisy propagandists:

Where is Goldstone, they rejoiced, and what would he have said? They were relieved. If the Americans are allowed to do it, so are we.

Indeed, the Americans are not allowed, and neither are we. When the traffic police stop a driver for speeding, the argument that "others do it" will not help him. When Richard Goldstone exposes war crimes in Gaza, the claim that "everyone does it" will not help us. Not everyone does it, and when they do, they should be excoriated and penalized.

According to the logic of Israeli propagandists, some of whom are disguised as journalists, Israel should now proudly look at the rest of the world: They killed more people there. There is no need to improve prison conditions in Israel - in China the situation is much worse; there is no need to upgrade health services - in America 50 million people have no insurance; no need to reduce the gap between rich and poor - in Mexico it is greater; we can continue to assassinate without trial - the British also do it; human rights are protected here - the Iranians are much worse; Israel has no corruption - look what's happening in Africa; the United States has the death penalty - let's have it too; it is even permissible to kill dissident journalists - look at the Russians.

Yes, war is cruel, the world is full of crimes and injustice, but not one of them exonerates Israel, even if Israel's sins seem pure as snow compared to those of the great United States. Now is the time to sharply censure America, not to forgive Israel.

It is the task of all patriots and people of conscience to express their fury over any such revelations, especially, of course, in their own country. Israelis must aspire to a more just and much more law-abiding country, without reference to what is going on in the world. True, we are not the worst; far from it. The number of civilians killed in Iraq, as was revealed, is a thousand times more horrific than the number killed in Gaza. So what? Even if the world holds us to a harsher standard, our hands do not become any cleaner. The world is more strict with us for various reasons, some justified, and at the same time treats us favorably and turns a blind eye to many other things. And in any case, the determining factor should be what we see in the mirror, if we look at it honestly.

Our rejoicing propagandists have changed their tactics now: no longer "the most moral army in the world," a contention any reasonable person can see is ridiculous. Now they say: "We are terrible, like all the rest." That claim does not hold water, especially because Israel is not judged only by one or another of its military operations, but by its decades-long occupation, with no end in sight. Such a lengthy occupation is unparalleled in the modern world and a disgrace to Israel, no matter what America is doing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

WikiLeaks has proven that in the end the truth will out; it is hard to hide anything in this era. Goldstone also showed it, albeit much less dramatically. Some two years after Operation Cast Lead, even the Israel Defense Forces is still dealing with it here and there, investigating and trying officers and soldiers who did what the Goldstone report, which so infuriated Israel, said they did.

Israel should thank Goldstone, and America should thank Julian Assange. Their revelations prove the futility of war and its crimes. Imagine how much hatred America has sown in Iraq, with its thousands of mourning families, and how much hatred Israel has sown in Gaza, with its thousands of mourning families and its ruination.

How futile are all the assassinations and the torture, abuse and false arrests, with Iraq and Gaza looking as they do.

What are we brandishing? More than 100,000 dead in a terrible, useless war, the whim of a democratic leader? True, George W. Bush should now be sent to The Hague. But the fact that others are doing it, as Assange's revelations show, is the consolation of fools, and theirs alone.

Madrid tells former Shin Bet chief they will not offer him immunity if he proceeds with visit.

MK Avi Dichter (Kadima) was planning on taking part in an international peace summit in Spain over the weekend, but was forced to cancel over fears he would be arrested, and possibly imprisoned, by Madrid authorities, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

According to report several days ago, a Spanish organization called The Madrid Coalition, invited Israeli and Palestinian representatives to take part in a summit focusing on the peace process and the Saudi initiative. Senior officials from the Palestinian Authority, including Mohammed Dahlan had RSVP'd to the event.

The Madrid Coalition works in cooperation with the former Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos. The summit organizers decided to invite a small group of MKs from Israel to take part in the summit. Former Shin Bet Chief MK Avi Dichter was set to lead the delegation.

Earlier this week, Dichter requested to look into the possibility that he may face legal action in Spain over complaints against him for his involvement in the Salah Shehade assassination, which took place when Dichter was head of Shin Bet) and for his involvement in Operation Cast Lead, Dichter was Ministerof Public Security at the time). After looking into the legal aspects of the situation,

Madrid officials told Dichter that Spain did not intend to offer him immunity from arrest or interrogation, after which he cancelled his participation in the event.

Dichter said that he had planned on taking part in the summit in order to discuss the peace process, but fears that he would be met with an arrest warrant or subpoena upon arrival in Spain.

This is not the first time that senior Israel politicians are forced to cancel trips abroad, or make a swift about face once they land in European airports. An arrest warrant was taken out against Kadima Chairman MK Tzipi Livni in England over claims she committed "war crimes" when she served as Foreign Minister during Operation Cast Lead.

Dichter noted that: "This isn't the first time I have come up against a dangerous situation like this one, where I go to a country and am unsure of my being able to leave it without being arrested. It is important to remember that that this isn't just dangerous for Avi Dichter, an arrest of this kind has dangerous national repercussions".

"It's absurd that representatives from the Palestinian Authority, who worked within the Palestinian security mechanism with God knows what kind of record, meet with no difficulties when they arrive in Spain. The Spanish must take responsibility for the situation and I am optimistic that we will find a solution", he added.

Troops convicted of "overstepping authority" for using Gazan boy as a human shield during Cast Lead claim they are "victims of Goldstone."

Givati Brigade commander Col. Moni Katz and hundreds of IDF reservists arrived on Monday at the Southern Command Military Court in Kastina, near Kiryat Gat, to protest the ongoing trial of two soldiers who have been convicted of using a Gazan boy as a human shield during Operation Cast Lead in January 2009.

The sentencing stage began on Monday.

The soldiers, who cannot be identified, were found guilty two weeks ago of exceeding their authority by ordering a nine-year-old boy to open bags they suspected might be booby-trapped near his home in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa neighborhood.

Military prosecutors requested on Monday that the court imprison the soldiers and demote them to privates for violating human rights and the IDF's code of purity of arms.

They are treating me like a war criminal who needs to pay dearly for years to come, one of the soldiers said.

The other soldier told the court, We feel as though we are victims of the Goldstone Report.

The defendants, identified only as St.-Sgt. A. and St.-Sgt H., have completed their mandatory military service. The charges carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison.

The military judges wrote in their ruling that the testimony of the Palestinian child was credible, and he answered questions in a coherent and clear manner. We have fully accepted his testimony.

The two sergeants came under investigation before the UN's Goldstone Report was released in September 2009. The IDF probe was opened based on information in a report compiled by a special UN representative appointed to investigate matters involving children and armed conflict, and following a specific complaint filed by the Israeli branch of Defense for Children International.

On Monday, as the military prosecutor began the sentencing phase of the trial Maj.-Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan, former deputy chief of General Staff, testified in support of the soldiers.

He later said that the IDF has entered a lethal legal nightmare by allowing 600 soldiers and officers to be questioned by Military Police since the end of Operation Cast Lead.

I do not know these soldiers but felt that there is a need to give them support. Even if they did something wrong, they are not criminals, he said. We need to return to the time when the commander is in charge of investigating operational incidents and not everything needs to go to a trial.

As the court held session, demonstrators outside held signs reading, Soldiers for Soldiers, and Every Mother Should Know that Her Son has Been Abandoned, a play on a famous saying by former prime minister David Ben-Gurion that Jewish mothers should know that they are leaving their sons in the trustworthy hands in the IDF.